We love the garden!!

The last couple of days, probably due to the intense heat and random soaking rains, the garden has been going gangbusters! Last night with dinner, we had cukes, yellow beans, green peppers and our very first tomato. Elizabeth loves cukes and tomatoes and there was barely enough to go around. In the picture on the far right, she is saying "Please Daddy," begging for more and more slices of tomato. . .

"I like to ride my bicycle, I like to ride my bike. . ."

I got home from work early enough yesterday that I was able to work with Elizabeth on her bike riding skills. She likes the concept of riding, but she doesn't really like to do any of the work associated with it - like pedal and steer. It's amazing she didn't simply crash!!

How Does Our Garden Grow???

Very well, thank you. Despite our inability to keep up with the weeds, our garden is thriving. We have already picked several zucchini and the cukes are coming in droves - we are picking three or four a night. Tonight, I picked enough yellow beans for two meals and we are picking a lot of peppers. The tomatoes are still green, but we have plenty of them.

Her Father's Daughter

After riding around (okay, attempting to ride) on her bike the other afternoon, Elizabeth saw a frog. And chased the frog. And held it. And released it. And chased it. And held it. And released it. And chased it. You get the picture. She unwittingly tortured the poor thing (squeezing it a little too tightly in an effort to hold on), but she was fascinated by it. Finally, she let him go, "back to his mommy and daddy." No fear, no squeamishness. She is definitely Lee's daughter.

Not a Difficult Child at All. . .

Looking at this picture, you would think that Emily is as easy as apple pie - which is certainly not the case!! Despite what Lee describes as an "attitude problem" - screaming at the top of her lungs until she gets what she wants - Emily can sleep just about anywhere. Including in her high chair, when neither of us were even aware that she was tired. I guess when you scream that much, you need to catch some extra zzzzz's!!!!

Elizabeth's Three Year Pictures

This morning, we took Elizabeth for her three year pictures. She did a great job and the pictures came out great. Here are some of them. Click here to see all of the pictures from the photo shoot (if you are asked for a password, it is the last four digits of our phone number).

And Wet Friday

When we woke up to pouring rain on Friday morning, we decided to leave the Beach Plum a day early. We spent a few hours cleaning and packing the truck - and as we pulled out of the driveway, the sun broke through the clouds - and stayed out the rest of the day! We did not go back, and instead headed into Manchester for a playdate with Ethan (who was supposed to visit us at the beach on Friday). We were back home by 4 p.m. and were able to pick up the dogs so that they did not have to spend another long, lonely night at the kennel. We had a fabulous week, took a ton of pictures, and cannot wait to go back next year!!

Wet Thursday

On Thursday, we had another yucky weather day. Grammy and Grampy LeBlanc came to visit us at the beach and we went out to breakfast. Then we went back to their house and played, fished and relaxed. You can see pictures from our day here.

Wet Wednesday

Wednesday was our first "bad" day this week. It rained pretty much the entire day, so we only had a little time at the beach. We walked around Odiorne Point for a while and then went down to our regular spot on the beach to play in the water and hunt around for sea creatures. When the rain really started coming down, we decided to go to Chuck E. Cheese (or "Chuck E. Cheezits", as Elizabeth calls it) for lunch - and to celebrate Elizabeth's 3rd birthday - that's right, our girl is 3!!! The food was not as bad as we remembered, but Elizabeth was overwhelmed by all the people and all the stuff. Late yesterday afternoon, Grammy and Grandpa came to visit and we made our second trip this week to Brown's for lobsters. Mmmm, mmmm good!!

Terrific Tuesday

Tuesday was another terrific day. We are getting used to our early morning strolls on the beach - as you can see, there is no one else around, so we really get the beach to ourselves. We were there for well over an hour on Tuesday, just checking stuff out. We went back to the beach later and played more - the tide is coming in later and later each day, so the beach seems bigger. The girls just have so much fun playing in the sand and water. Although the water is cold, it doesn't seem to bother them. Last night, after dinner, we went out for ice cream - which Elizabeth and Emily just loved.

Marvelous Monday

We had a great day on Monday. We were on the beach by 7:15 a.m. (this time, the girls were in bathing suits) and we played in the sand and in the water for over an hour before they looked like they were just a little too cold. We headed back to the cottage, had a snack and then went back to the beach for the day. By 1:30 p.m., everyone was wiped out from swimming and playing, so we went back to the cottage for lunch and a nap. After naps, we headed out to for an early dinner, where Elizabeth and Emily charmed the waitresses and the cooks. Looking forward to a great Tuesday.

Playing at the beach

Sleeping on the Beach

For the second morning in a row, Emily took a nap on the beach Monday. Life is Good.

What a Day!!

Sunday was our first "real" day at the beach and we had a great time. We put the girls in the stroller and had a nice walk, all around and down to the beach. They got to play in the water and the sand at low tide, with no one else around. Next time, we'll put them in their bathing suits before we leave!!! We went back to the Beach Plum, had a snack, and headed back out to the beach. After a couple of hours of playing in the sand, we got a big surprise - Auntie Kathy and Uncle Peter showed up (you can see the pictures that they took here)!! Auntie Kathy took Elizabeth in the water and they both helped make sand castles. Sunday night, we went to Brown's for dinner. Elizabeth and Emily both ate lobsters and steamers (and french fries and a hot dog). What a great day!!!

Building a Sand Castle with Auntie Kathy

What exactly is this???

Searching for Hermit Crabs

Elizabeth and Lee searched high and low for crabs and other sea creatures. Of course, when they actually found one, Elizabeth screamed at the top of her lungs and took off running!!!

Folks, we have a climber!!

This morning, I'm sitting at the computer when behind me, I hear a little evil laugh from Emily. I turn around, only to find her crawling across the coffee table - and, of course, laughing at the fact that she has climbed on to the table. A runner and a climber - we are in for it!!

Elizabeth Rocks Acro

This was probably Elizabeth's best performance. Here, she does her somersaults (even going off the mat a bit), loses her head piece, and knows enough to run backstage to have Miss Jen fix her head piece. We might be bragging, but she stole the show.

Elizabeth Takes Acro by Storm

In this video (of Elizabeth's acrobatics class), Elizabeth is the first one through the tunnel. Notice how she gets back in line for another turn, much to the other little girl's chagrin.

Elizabeth's Ballet Performance

We think that everyone should see Elizabeth's debut as a ballerina. Here she is, third from the left, stealing the show at the dress rehearsal. . . .

Rudy and Elliot

Aside from the girls, these guys are the love of our lives. Here they are, just chillin' on a hot summer morning (hoping that we'll leave the AC on for them if we go out, which we did).

Emily's One Year Pictures

Today I took Emily for her one year photos. We have spent almost three years looking for the right place for pictures and I think that we finally found it. Even though it took her a while to warm up to the photographer, she got some great shots. Here are a few of them.

If you click on this link, you should be able to see all of the pictures that were taken today.

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/OrderPage.aspx?pi=0IQS03WX000000&po=0&c=3SJ94Y

Movie Star

We don't want you to think that we are all Emily, all the time. Here is a picture of our movie star, Miss Elizabeth!

SCORE!!!

Emily shows off

Emily Walks!

Emily has really started to take off with her walking lately. She still prefers to push her walker, probably because she can go much faster, but she is really starting to come along!


Emily doesn't let Elliot get in the way of her play time!

"All this walking is making me tired - I think I'll take a little snooze!!"

Sisters

As much as Elizabeth tries to push Emily around, she really loves having Emily (aka "Baby") as her sister!